Bookmark



March 14, 1967 s, 1 I 3,308,784

BOOKMARK Filed 001;. 22, 1965 FIG. I. FIG. 2.

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FIG. 6. Halli!!! INVENTOR Ruth 8. Miller United States Patent 3,308,784 7 BOOKMARK Ruth S. Miller, 3945 Connecticut Ave. NW., Washington, D.C. 20008 Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 500,867 1 Claim. (Cl. 116-119) This invention relates to an improvement over the bookmark described in my copending application Ser. No. 407,361 filed Oct. 29, 1964 now abandoned. More specifically, it relates to a bookmark which can be easily attached to a book or magazine and which can be easily removed therefrom and which provides for the identification of the owner or user of the book in which it is placed.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a bookmark which is simple to use and which can be easily and inexpensively manufactured from readily available materials.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a bookmark which will identify the owner of the book to which it is attached or the user of the book, for example, when it is attached to-a library book.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the description which follows taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which FIGURE 1 shows the bookmark of this invention before it has been inserted into a book;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded view of the bookmark before it has been completely assembled;

FIGURE 3 is a view in section taken along plane 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a view in perspective of one element of the bookmark of FIGURE 3 FIGURE 5 is a view in perspective of a modification of the element shown in FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 illustrates the bookmark in a book.

As best seen in FIGURES 1 and 2, the bookmark of this invention consists of a paper clip 10 of a size suitable for attachment to the first few pages of a book in which the bookmark is to be used, whether it be a hardcover, paperback or magazine. The clip 10 consists of a single piece of wire bent into the shape of two U shaped portions 12 and 14 connected to one another by a loop 18 which includes a crossbar 16.- The straight sides and connecting curve portion which comprise the relatively larger outer U shaped portion 12 embrace a relatively smaller inner U shaped portion 14. As shown in the figures the two are joined by -a flattened loop 18 which connects the right hand leg of portion 14 with the left hand leg of portion 12.

Looped over leg 16 of clip 10 there is a laminated strip 20, comprising the bookmark itself. Strip 20 consists of a flat base 22 of cotton cloth to one surface of which a piece of heavy bond paper 24 is secured by any suitable adhesive. On the surface of the paper 24 not laminated to the cloth base 22 there is secured a metal disc 26 about the size of a penny and a little more than ,5 thick.

Toward the end of the strip 20 away from disc 26, the cloth-paper laminate is narrowed to facilitate looping the end portion through loop 18 and over leg 16 so that a permanent loop 28 is formed when extension 25 is stapled. pasted or otherwise secured to the remainder of the lamin-ate as shown in FIGURE 3.

At any convenient step in the process of constructing the bookmark, the heavy bond paper 24 is provided with indicia 30 on its face so that the user of the mark can complete the blank spaces thereon with his name and address and telephone number or such other information as will serve to identify him.

In FIGURES 3 and 4 the weighted disc 26 is shown as having ,a concave surface 27 which permits easier grasping by the thumb or forefinger so that it may be lifted or pushed up over the top of the book to which it is attached. The letters STOP are preferably white on a red background. The reverse side of disc 26 is roughed to make it easier to bond it to the paper layer 24.

In FIGURE 5 the weighted disc 26 is shown as fiat on top but with the letters STOP raised or embossed to enable the user to have a better hold on the disc as it is pushed up the page.

To use the bookmark the clip 10 is attached to the first two or three pages of a book and is to remain affixed there until one is finished reading the book. When one stops reading one lifts the laminated strip and places it by letting it fall or slide down the page Where one stops reading. When the bookmark is removed, as one begins to read again, it is to be placed in its original position in front of the first couple of pages of the book. Thus, it is always there when one needs it.

As the book is read, the user lifts the bookmark by pushing against the concave surface 27 or embossed letters so as to urge the mark upwardly toward the top of the page. Then he grasps the strip 20 and lifts it while turning to the next page or to the page at which he completes his reading for the moment. The weighted disc 26 serves as a weight whereby the bookmark falls into place on the page a person is reading. Furthermore, the weight acts to keep the dependent portion of the bookmark from curling.

In one bookmark it has been found that with a loop 18 measuring about one-inch across, U shaped portion 12 should be about one and one-half inches long and about three-eighths of an inch across with a strip 20 measuring about five and one-half inches in length plus a one-inch extension 25 and widths of one-inch for strip 20 and seven-eighths of an inch for extension 25.

I claim:

A bookmark comprising a metal clip consisting of a single piece of wire bent in a single plane to form inner and outer parallel U shaped members nested within one another, and a loop connecting said two U shaped members, said loop consisting of a loop-forming extension of one leg of the outer of said U shaped members and a loop-forming extension of one leg of the inner of said U shaped members, and a cross bar extending transversely between said two extensions and connecting said extensions to one another, said loops being disposed at opposite ends of said cross bar, said clip being adapted to be bent out of its initial single plane so as to straddle the cover or a few pages of a book between the inner of said U shaped members on one side of said cover or pages and the outer of said -U shaped members on the opposite side of said cover or pages;

a flexible laminated strip comprising a layer of cloth and a layer of paper laminated to one another in face to face relation, one end of said flexible strip being looped directly around said cross bar of said metal clip;

means securing the loop forming end of said flexible strip to the back of said flexible strip;

a metal disc located adjacent to but spaced from the other end of said flexible strip and secured to the front of said strip; and

the outer surface of said disc being concave or provided with raised or embossed areas to facilitate lifting said bookmark by applying a finger to the upper surface of said disc to move it to another page.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 4 2/1931 Baurngarten 1 16-119 2/1933 Domenego 116119 10/ 1948 Zychlinski 24-261 4/ 1952 ONeill 28142 12/1960 Harrison 116--1 19 FOREIGN PATENTS 1902 Great Britain. 1909 Great Britain.

w LOUIS J. CAPOZI, Primary Examiner 

